Chapter 16 Pass five levels and kill six generals
Wallace is 211 cm tall and weighs 104 kilograms, is an all-star power forward with a comprehensive offense and defense, before coming to the Pistons, he was selected for the All-Star team twice, Wallace can resist the top of the defensive end, as long as it is not a BUG-level alignment, the defense is generally not a problem, the offensive end is comprehensive, the shooting range is as far as the three-point line, the straight-arm shooting is a must in the league, the shooting point is high, the arc is high, it is almost difficult to be blocked, Wallace's arrival completely makes up for the Pistons' lineup defects, Let the Pistons have the capital to compete with strong teams.
In the remaining 22 games of the season, Wallace, who was well-versed in attack and defense, squeezed his original starter, Turkish Oku, to the bench. Wallace averaged 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, and the Pistons' record this season was as stable as ever, 54-28, but the Eastern Conference pattern at this time was not what it was a few years ago, the Indiana Pacers sprung up, Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, cashed in on their talents, Reggie Miller fought hard for the final glory of his career, plus the skilled head coach Rick Carlisle, this talented team won 61 games in the regular season, ranking first in the leagueThe second is the New Jersey Nets with the trident of Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd, who have 47 wins, but because of the playoff ranking rules - the top spot in the division must be in the top four, the Pistons and Pacers are both in the middle zone, and the Nets are first in the Atlantic division, so the Nets are second and the Pistons are third.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Pistons' opponent was the Milwaukee Bucks led by Michael Reed, Reed broke out this season, from the team's high-quality sixth man to the team's leading star, shooting an average of 21.7 points per game in the regular season, and was nicknamed "Xiao Li Flying Knife", but it is obvious that the Bucks in the rising period are not the opponents of the Pistons at this time, and after five games, the Pistons won the Bucks 4:1 without blood, Hamilton had a solid output of 20.2 points, Billups had 18.2 points and 7.2 assists, but shot just 39.7% from the field, and Prince shone in this series, averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game, while also limiting Reed on the defensive end, allowing the latter to score only 18.0 points, shooting 41% from the field and 30% from three-point range......
Oh, there is one more person who has to mention, that is Gise Van Horne, the cabbage is simply the footboard for the Pistons to enter the peak, last year in the 76ers, they originally played well in the regular season, averaging 15.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, shooting rate of nearly 50%, and was cut by the Pistons in the playoffs to average 7.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, shooting rate of 38.1%, this year's regular season, the original cabbage played well, averaging 16.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, shooting rate of 47%, In the playoffs, the Pistons had 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds, plus a 33.3% shooting percentage......
Van Horn cried after the game...... Lao Tzu is going to the west......
The following year, Van Horn transferred to the Mavericks, Van Horn was originally overjoyed, but finally couldn't touch the fierce and evil Ben, but he didn't think about it, he met the Rockets in the playoffs, and was cut by Yao Ming......
Well, after the Pistons easily advanced in the first round, this round has encountered a hard stubble, that is, the Pistons lost 0:4 to the opponent New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference finals last year.
Compared with the upgrade of the Pistons lineup, the Nets have not made too many adjustments to the lineup, and they still maintain the idea of building a trident, and small forward Richard Jefferson is the team's first attacker. In the first round, the Knicks averaged 17.8 points, 5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and the physical Martin went over the sea on the inside, averaging 23.3 points and 14 rebounds per game in the first round, Martin as the brain of the team, averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game, Kidders is the team's most stable output point in addition to the trident, averaging 14.5 points per game, in addition to center Jason Collins, forward swingman Rodney Rodgers, guard Rousios Harris, power forward Aaron Williams and third-year freshman, Brian Scalabryne, nicknamed White Mamba.
It is worth mentioning that as the brain of the Nets, Jason Kidd missed more than a dozen games at the end of the regular season because of a serious knee injury, how serious is it, it was originally to be reimbursed for the season, but Kidd chose conservative treatment and forced a comeback at the beginning of the playoffs, but the final effect was unsatisfactory, Kidd played okay in the first round against Marbury, but this round of playing Billups was powerless, this round of the series was bloody, and after the end of the series with the Pistons, Kidd was sent directly to the operating table for surgery, and did not return to play until the first two months of next season, although Kidd's spirit is still worthy of recognition, but a serious knee injury seriously affected Kidd's career, and some people say that it is precisely because of this year's knee injury that Kidd stepped down from the altar this year.
In the first game, the Pistons kept pressing the Nets to the ground and rubbing them, leading from the beginning to the end, and finally defeated the Nets 78-56, the Nets' team-wide shooting rate was miserable, Richard Jefferson shot 1 of 12 under Prince's defense, and only scored 8 points! Prince, on the other hand, had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 6-of-10 shooting.
In the second game, after the end of the first half, the Pistons fell behind with a score of 34:46, but in the second half, Billups and Hamilton combined to score 34 points, and finally the whole court ended, the Pistons reversed and defeated the Nets again 95:80, the biggest variable in the whole game is undoubtedly the alignment of the No. 1 position, the whole game Billups simply hung Kidd up and abused, scoring 28 points and 13 assists on 9-of-16 shooting, while Kidd scored 8 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists on 3-of-13 shooting, Billups is not the same as Kidd's first-round opponent Stephen Marbury, and Billups doesn't play with you, what's fancy? What is streetball? What? Can you still shake people down with a dribble? No, it won't! I'll just pout my big ass and arch in, three arches and two arches will make Kidd's eyes glow and his limbs will be weak, how can I bother to organize an attack......
Richard Jefferson finally found his touch after returning to his home court, scoring 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists on 11-of-19 shooting, although there were 6 turnovers, but the flaws were not hidden, although Kidd only scored 5 points and 12 assists on 2-of-14 shooting, but the Nets still beat the Pistons 82-64, the reason was that the Pistons' offense had problems, Billups scored 2 points and 2 assists on 1-of-10 shooting, and his performance was very substandard, Big Ben scored 15 points, 24 rebounds and 11 front boards, but still couldn't stop the whole team from feeling cold, Prince scored 4 points on 0-of-2 shooting, and was completely blown up by Jefferson on the defensive end.
In the fourth game, the Pistons had not yet found their sense on the offensive end, and the whole team scored 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting, and no one else scored a double-double, while the Nets had no one to score a double-double, and Kidd was a rare and stable triple-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
In the last 17 seconds of the game, Kidd hit two free throws to help the Nets lead by three points at 87:84, and after the ball exchange, the Nets' Aaron Williams immediately fouled and sent Prince to the free throw line, even if he hit both free throws, the ball was still mine, but Prince actually hit one of two free throws, 87:85! Then Prince immediately fouled Kidd again, at this time, as long as Kidd only hit both free throws, the Pistons want to return to heaven unless a miracle is born, who would have thought that Kidd, who shot 82.7% of the free throws that season, missed both free throws and sent his head angrily! But the Pistons' offense didn't work this time, Billups received the serve and ran all the way from the backcourt to send warmth to the Nets, and was breaking through Kidd to prepare for a layup, the sky suddenly appeared to be huge, Richard Jefferson jumped high, gave Billups a nail board blood cap, and Jefferson, who sent a key block, roared in the sky - such a performance, I don't believe it can't move you...... Kidders grabbed the rebound, there were only 2.9 seconds left in the time, Big Ben immediately fouled, at this time the balance of victory has been completely tilted in favor of the Nets, as long as Kidders hit both free throws, the Pistons will lose, but everyone miscalculated, Kidders, who shot nearly 80% of his career free throws, made one of two free throws, and sent his head +1 again, and then, Billups's big heart attribute exploded, received the ball at the free throw line, dribbled two steps directly to the frontcourt, and jumped in front of the half-step position on the midline, and his body was still floating forward, Shoot the ball, hit the board and go into the net......
Overtime!
The entire palace of Auburn Hills suddenly roared with a tsunami, and Jefferson, who was still roaring in the sky just now, was blinded at this time......
In the first overtime, in the last minute of the game, Billups hit two free throws and led the Pistons to overtake the score by one point, and then Jefferson caused Prince to foul, and in the last 30 seconds, Jefferson angrily sent a +2 head, two free throws and one hit, and the game entered the second overtime......
In the second overtime, in the last 30 seconds of the game, Jefferson caused Wallace to foul, who left the court with six fouls, at which time Jefferson sent +3 to the head again, hitting one of two free throws, and the score was 111:111 and entered the third overtime again.
Three overtime games, there are not a few times in the entire history of the NBA, Brown standing on the sidelines smiled, this time, the Nets did not let the opportunity slip away, and finally won the series 127-120, ending this tragic war, the whole game Nets Martin, Jason - 0 Collins, Rodney Rodgers, Aaron Williams four 6 fouls left, and the Pistons were even worse, the starting five, in the end there was Billups left, the other four were all free-thrown, Jefferson scored 31 points in this game, 11 rebounds, Martin scored 22 points and 9 rebounds, Kidders scored 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, Kidd played a game-high 57 minutes with a seriously injured leg, scored 16 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, and Scala Brien, who came off the bench, became a wonder soldier, scoring 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and the Pistons, Billups, who almost became a hero, scored 31 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists and 3 steals, Prince had 18 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, Rasheed Wallace had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Hamilton had 11 points and 11 assists, and Big Ben had 16 points and 11 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks.
After five games, the Pistons fell behind 2:3, and the Pistons were once again forced to the edge of the cliff, but after so many years of precipitation, the Pistons' tenacity of not admitting defeat has already penetrated into the bone marrow.
In the sixth game, the Pistons defeated the Nets 81-75, Billups and Lynch's steady free throws at the last moment ensured the final victory of the game, and the final tie-break battle, the Nets collapsed across the board, and the Nets were already behind by as many as 24 points after three quarters, and the game ended, the Pistons defeated the Nets 90-69, Jason Kidd's knee injury really made him unable to support it anymore, which seriously affected his state, and none of the 8 shots in the whole court hit a point in the whole game!
Throughout the series, the Nets' Jason Kidd is undoubtedly the biggest variable in the series, averaging 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 9.0 assists per game, shooting 28.4%, three-point shooting rate is an outrageous 14.7%, and the most 4.9 three-pointers per game are the team's most.
As a result, the Pistons reached the Eastern Conference Finals with his iron-clad defense, and their opponents were the Indiana Pacers led by Rick Carlisle.
The Pacers team was a small peak in the history of the team, the team leader was Reggie Miller, the other Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest were also All-Star selected players, Al Harrington and Jamal Tinsley and Austin Kloss are all powerful players, these players are under the guidance of Carlisle, it is simply another copy of the Pistons, emphasizing defense and off-ball offense, every team has a player who is enough to support the team's defense, the Pistons are the big book, The Pacers are Artay, and every team also has a player who is good at running without the ball and seeking offensive opportunities, the Pistons are Hamilton, and the Pacers are Miller, but compared to the Pistons, the Pacers at that time had a single offensive means, and the big scores relied on jump shots, lacking a player with strong breakthrough ability to tear apart the opponent's defense, kill the opponent or create opportunities for teammates, and in the Pistons, this character is usually completed by Billups, although Billups is not fast, but the body is strong, The average player really can't stand him, and the Pacers' defense relies more on physical contact to interfere with opponents, so there is a lack of a player like Prince who is good at defensive movement.
But the Pacers also have a temperament that the Pistons don't have, that is, a kind of unsparing energy, Miller and Atay needless to say, Tinsley used to play street ball, O'Neal Jr. and Harrington also have a gangster background, and frequently make physical contact during the game to try to interfere with the Pistons.
This round of the series can be called a meat grinder competition, after the whole round of the series, no team can score more than 85 points, after six games, the Pistons defeated the slightly flawed Pacers 4-2, it is worth one,
In the last 17 seconds of the second game, the Pistons only led the Pacers by 2 points at 69:67, Miller stole Billups at the critical moment, and then quickly formed a layup, but unexpectedly a big hand flew from the sky and gave Miller a pegboard hat, this person was Prince, in the last minute and a half of the sixth game, the Pistons led the Pacers by two points at 63:61, Miller steals Big Ben again, passes Anthony Johnson to form a layup, and is chased by Prince again...... With two balls, he claimed to have ruined two blocks for Miller's championship......
So, this season's Pistons team, standing on the stage of the finals, and their opponent is the Los Angeles Lakers who have just completed three consecutive championships, before the game, it can be said that no one is optimistic about them, and some people are even eye-catching, as long as the Pistons can win two games, it has exceeded people's expectations, but the result is known to everyone, the Pistons defeated the Lakers 4:1 and topped the championship, but the problem is that the Lakers have O'Neal, Kobe, Malone, Payton four Hall of Fame superstars, How could he have lost, and so badly?